JOURNAL
JOURNAL
WILD BLUE MOUNTAINS
NAVIGATION INSTRUCTORS WORKSHOP – DAY 02 20 May 2023 The day promised to be cold and it did deliver. We continued on with the classroom material and plotted our points for the navigation exercise. We left for Sunny Corner State Forest and soon enough we were at the “obstacle” which proved too much for some of the PCs. Only two RFS vehicles and a 4WD made it to the top: with no diff lock and city tyres, it was not […]
NAVIGATION INSTRUCTORS WORKSHOP – DAY 01 20 May 2023 Operational Field Support had organised a workshop for the Operate in Remote Environments (ORE) course instructors. ORE is a qualification required for all remote area firefighters.The workshop was delivered by Way-Finder. Most of the day was spent in the classroom. We discussed group dynamics and better ways of presenting map reading and navigation topics. Our instructors introduced some basic navigation exercises and soon enough we hoped in our PCs and were […]
TEETERING CLIFFS – MAELSTROM CAVE 17 May 2023 Yuri wanted to revisit this area off the D’Arcy Range before the gate was shut. The word “teetering” did not inspire confidence: I imagined small precarious cliff ledges – it was a Yuri walk after all! We descended the slope and reached the cliff line level stopping to look at caves/overhangs and the marvelous sandstone patters. The teetering cliffs materialised: no smooth walls, just a bunch of large rocks thrown together: it […]
UPPER WOLLANGAMBE 14 May 2023 This was a short-notice club walk on Mother’s Day which promised not to be well-attended. I like this area so I went. The bush is slowly regenerating but has not returned to its fomer glory yet! Submarine Rock was there and did not disappoint! As we made our way towads the Wollangambe River, Lizard Rock took shape! There was a discussion whether this was more Turtle than Lizard! A short steep descent to the Wollangambe […]
HYDRAULICS ASSESSMENT 13 May 2023 We had a few people from the hydraulics course who needed to complete their assessment.One of the participants needed to draft from the Cat 1. We built a makeshift buoy wall using a tarp and ladder. It all worked out fine and the participants passed!
BOWENS CREEK – RED HILL RIDGE 10 May 2023 Red Hill Ridge: Part Deux! The approach this time was from the Bells Line of Road down to Bowens Creek and up a gully. The vegetation was thick but became sparse once we were descending the hill. We were able to see the hills we traversed on Red Hilll Ridge two weeks ago. The map indicated a possible way down to creek. After a cup of tea, we walked down to […]
LAND SEARCH – DAY 02 6 May 2023 Day 02 of the search: we were sent not far away from the area we searched the day before. The pines were younger and the vegetation was thick. We did maintain our line however! Less mushroom in this forest! The second tasking was in regular bush in National Park and it was easier (and more enjoyable) to search! We finished with a short steep hill and back to the staging area where […]
LAND SEARCH – DAY 01 5 May 2023 Emergency volunteer services were called for a three-day search. Our team searched an area of pine forest. The terrain and vegetation were easy and we completed out two taskings. The forest floor was covered with mushrooms. At the end of the day, the Rapid Relief Team had a coffee cart: it was too late for a coffee for me but the hot chocolate was a treat!
BURRAMOKO CANYON 3 May 2023 It was not a dark and stormy night but a very windy day! The side creek we visited on the Crayfish Creek walk was the object of our attention: since it is on Burramoko Ridge near Burramoko Head, it was called Burramoko Canyon! We left the fire trail and soon had our first views of the canyon. Even down the slope the wind was murderous. There were no easy way down to the creek and […]
RED HILL 25 April 2023 Red Hill track is a trail in Mount Wilson that leads to the power lines. The end of the track overlooks the south branch of Bowens Creek. It is always interesting to get a bird’s-eye view of the canyons you have visited! The cliffs at the end of the ridge following Bowens Creek looked interesting! Harold had been on the ridge a few years back but had been stopped by the vegetation. So we decided […]
